“I can’t even watch the footage on the news because it is too upsetting.”

Make-up artist Alice said Joe is an only child and that his worried parents had rushed to his side in hospital.

She added: “I’ve been told by friends that he has broken both his legs.

“I’ve known Leah since we were at school together.

"I’ve just been told she was going into theatre last night for an operation.

"She is very intelligent and had only just passed her driving test.

"I’m not sure how she and Joe met but I know they used to walk their dogs together sometimes.”

Ghost town: Following the accident, the theme park will be closed on Friday too (Image: SWNS)

Joe’s boss Steve Hibbert said he had worked at the bar since February and was hard working and well liked.

He added: “He’d been on about going to Alton Towers and was really excited.”

Yesterday, the club where he works posted a message on Facebook which read: "After hearing the news about the terrible accident at Alton Towers it has to come to our attention that a member of our staff was involved.

"We at the oaks Wmc would like to extend our prayers and best wishes in the speedy recovery of our Barman Joe Pugh and his girlfriend Leah Washington.

"Please be respectful of the families wishes as we don't have all the details of the incident as their attention will be focused on Joe and Leah's recovery.

"All we hope is that they both recover and we have Joe back behind the bar as soon as possible."

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A spokesperson for Oaks WMC added: "As soon as we saw the pictures on the news we knew it was Joe.

"He has a style that everybody knows.

"He started working here in February and he has done a lot of shifts since then.

"Joe lives with his parents and commutes to university in Huddersfield.

"His girlfriend lives in this area too.

"Joe is a nice lad and we hope that he will be ok.

"We could see on the news that he was on a stretcher but we don't know the extent of his injuries."

Since the accident it has emerged that passengers onboard the rollercoaster joked moments before the terrifying accident that they were "guinea pigs".

Vanisha Singh was on The Smiler when it smashed into another carriage on the track.

The 29-year-old said that the ride suffered from technical difficulties in the moments before passengers eventually got on-board, with test cars sent around the track.

Victim: Leah was one of those with serious injuries

Speaking to The Sun, she said: "We finally went up and were kept at the top for ten or 15 minutes chatting, joking that we were the guinea pigs.

"Then we plummeted down and smashed into the test car after doing a couple of loops."

The mum-of-two also described the horrifying scene after the crash, saying blood was pouring from the carriage after passengers were left with terrible injuries.

"There was blood all over the floor because it was pouring out of their legs in the carriage and dropping down," she said.